The French, I noted in my post about butter, have some of the world’s best bread. No one else is better at turning flour, water, salt, and yeast into delicious food. If we widen the scope of what constitutes “bread” to include items made with dough that includes other ingredients, then we must consider the bagel. I do not believe any bread can compete with a fresh New York City bagel, with its crispy, bubbly crust and chewy crumb. However, I am currently a long way from NYC. Could Paris offer a bagel to compete with those across the Atlantic?
No, obviously. But, could Paris offer a decent bagel? I decided to find out.
When I visited Paris many years ago, Andi’s father was excited to have located bagels in Paris. Or rather, he located a bag of frozen “bagels.” The label on the bag translated to “little American breads.” These bagels looked sadder and less bagel-like than Lender’s.
A few years ago, I noticed a bagel shop in Paris with a funny name: “Still Good.”
I’m not so znooty that I won’t eat day-old bagels, but that seems like an odd selling point. I did not try a “still good” bagel.
This time, I have noticed more and more bagel shops in Paris, including several locations of “Still Good.”
Clearly, bagels were catching on here. I decided I had to try a Paris bagel. For Science.
